Work underway to plug 2 abandoned gas wells in Scott

Two leaking abandoned gas wells in Scott are being plugged.

The state Department of Environmental Protection initiated an emergency project to plug two leaking abandoned natural gas wells along Scrubgrass Road in Scott, the agency announced Monday.

The project started Tuesday.

Crews will be cutting down trees and potentially flaring the wells to prepare for plugging, according to the DEP. Flaring is the controlled burning of natural gas from a well and can be necessary to evacuate gas from the well to make sure it can be safely plugged.

The DEP aims to have the wells plugged by the beginning of March. The goal is to permanently eliminate the potential for the wells to leak methane, according to the DEP.

“Without this emergency project, the well could continue to deteriorate and stray methane gas could migrate into nearby sewer lines through the soil,” the DEP said in a statement. “The existing two leaking abandoned wells increase the risk of gas levels accumulating to unsafe levels if adverse weather conditions exist which would prevent the gas from dissipating.”

The DEP performed emergency mitigation in 2019 in the area but methane levels have recently increased and officials have received odor complaints around the Kane Woods Nature Area.

“Orphaned and abandoned gas wells dot Southwestern Pennsylvania in rural and more populated areas, representing potential threats to human health, safety and the environment,” said Dan Counahan, director of district oil and gas operations. “We’re mobilizing emergency crews to mitigate this hazard as quickly as possible.”

The DEP is using emergency plugging funds for the project.

Two others wells in Scott will be plugged later this year with Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding.